Self Help
by BishounenAddict
Summary: With the clock ticking and their enemies working together through time itself, the Spirit Detectives and the shard hunters team up to save Kagome's very soul.


AN: Basically starting after the Dark Tournament (episode 67) in the Yyh timeline and after mount Hakurei (episode 127) for Inuyasha. To head it off I'm aware Kikyou isn't dead after mount Hakurei, but bear with me and keep in mind your dealing with a story that has time travel. To quote the Doctor "wibbly wobbly timey wimey" don't expect a strict linear progression of time, that'd just take some of the fun out of time travel.

Chapter One: Spirit Detectives Assemble!

If there was one thing Koenma hated it was paper work. Piles and piles of paper on his desk made up his nightmares along with the spankings that resulted from allowing such build up. Paradise or punishment was not a judgment to be made quickly in many cases, and it was a point of pride that the prince rarely needed to over-turn a previous ruling.

Deadlines set by his father kept stress levels high as Koenma never felt he had the time he needed to properly judge every case and the situation was getting bleak. Four stacks of paper taller than his toddler form sat on his desk, each one making him regret sneaking off to see the Dark Tournament a bit more than the last. He was almost tempted, _almost_, to order the sheets of all those involved in the incident and slap punishment on them all!

However his affectionately dubbed the "straight to hell with you" stack was already going impressively pregnant between the members of the Black Black Club, various other wealthy corrupt backers of the tournament, a number of the fighters, questionable audience members, and by request of the man himself Toguro. True, there were all for various layers of hell and had different lengths served, but at the moment the number of harsh sentences was depressing._ 'Not a single good apple in the bunch...'_

A click sounded a few feet away followed by a harsh buzz as George reset Koenma's "days without accident" counter. A week didn't pass in Spirit World without the ogres resetting their counter, but his was almost untouched. His precious 446 year streak flew right down the drain, waving a one fingered farewell to 162,898 days of hard work with zero respect!

The ogre twiddled his hands and approached his boss's desk. "Koenma Sir, we've got a problem..."

The punishment gavel dropped onto the file leaving it's mark. "I'd say we do, no decent mortals left! A shame, if there were more useful souls passing through I might be able to replace all you clumsy ogres!"

Dropping a vanilla folder onto the desk, George slide back a few steps out of the danger zone as the piles of paperwork swayed. "I'm serious sir, someone powerful just arrived here's their file!"

Someone powerful told Koenma nothing. After all he was the prince, powerful visitors were a dime a dozen. The fact that this visitor had something to do with his newly broken streak was troubling however. The last time his streak was broken a soul named Hosenki had managed to bring personal effects into Spirit World resulting in a security breach, the spirit's soul becoming corrupted, and over 10,000 spankings! _'Never again!'_

"Tell Botan to escort our guest in whenever she's free. You should be able to find her in the employee lounge." More forceful than needed, Koenma stamped down on the next file, yet another punishment._'And here I was hopping for a bit of peace while the apparitions were tuckered out from the tournament.'_

Several sheets fluttered to the ground as Koenma flailed to snatch them. "These have to be judged by noon; get out before I beat you black and bluer!"

Nodding repeatedly the ogre fled. With a slam the doors to his office released George and shut, sending weeks of judgments scattering to the floor. "Ogre!"

Inhaling slowly, the prince closed his eyes and focused on breathing deeply. Inflating the diaphragm, not the chest, he counted backwards from 10 in his head. '_No stress allowed in the office.'_ Whatever happened could surely be fixed before the news got to his father. Peeking an eye open he glanced inside the folder.

"_Priestess Kikyou. Born 1484 in the Musashi province. 1501, dead from extensive hemorrhaging. Final judgment: paradise. Reincarnation date: 1982 see file Higarashi Kagome."_

Nothing seemed off about the file as he skimmed. This one looked fairly open and shut: the good deeds outnumbered any sins and the death, while demon related, was recorded thoroughly through a post postmortem interview with the deceased herself. A sad end to a promising life for sure, but all that had occurred was a lover's spat gone wrong. _'At least I got too see one good file today, a shame the good ones truly do tend to die young.'_

Just as he put the final aside he heard a knock at the door, rapid and a little too forceful. Only Botan knocked like that, he really needed to remind that girl using her oar to knock was misuse of Spirit World property. Summoning a bit of energy Koenma transformed into his teenage form. He never did bother asking who the guest was, but if it was important business then it was important to look cool. "Bring our guest in, I don't have all day."

Botan pushed open the doors and in stepped a woman dressed in the robes of a priestess. Her skin lacked the otherworldly glow of a spirit and was clearly as solid as the containers his reapers used to stay in the human realm, yet the seem to be made of a porcelain material too smooth to belong to a human.

A woman both dead and alive stood before him, judged and reincarnated on paper; yet clearly unprocessed by Spirit Worlds system. Worse she wasn't the only one unprocessed by the look of the souls moving within her. The woman whose file he'd just brushed off as ordinary. Koenma wiped now sweaty hands against his pants as he felt throat tighten and his mouth go dry.

_'Father is going to kill me.'_

Smile in place as if this was the usual order of affairs, Botan nodded towards her boss. "This is Lord Koenma ruler of Spirit World. This sir is our guest. Sorry about the lack of notice, but she just popped right out of a portal into the middle of the staff room. Not much of a talker as far as I can tell, but with this many new souls needing judgment I figured it would be best to bring this straight to you!"

Breathing was no longer a concern of Koenma, he was sure for a moment he'd felt his heart stop. How could that fool stand there smiling? Someone just opened a portal right inside his palace and no one even thought to warn him!? _Pay docking all around, I'll start with her and George!_

Neither grin nor a grimace pulled at her lips, and her eyes were simply open without any real clues as to what lay in the mind behind them. She was calm and unreadable to the point of seeming like statue. Only the presents of the souls inside her body kept her from seeming empty of all life."I seek the land of spirits, where King Enma looks after both the dead and the living."

Everyone always wanted to meet his father, was it not cool enough to be a prince? He ended up doing all the work around here anyway, when he didn't delegate it to the ogres or his detectives; but that was beside the point! He worked hard! But if she wanted to play it all cool, he'd play it even cooler. According to Koenma logic, the best logic in his own humble opinion, there was nothing petty about that.

Koenma lifted Kikyou's file off his desk, making a point of showing off the label with her name on it. Holding the records of everyone that has ever been lives, even more so of the specific being he was speaking with tended to earn him some respect in his experience. "Seems you've found it. I am King Enma's son Koenma. Kikyou correct? According to our records you past on and eventually reincarnated. How did you come to hold that form?"

_'I do not have time for this, but could I truly claim to be a priestess if I ignored a deity?'_ The undead priestess stiffened, her back straight and her eyes narrowed. "It was not my choice to return to the world of the living. Once I was the priestess Kikyou, now I'm just another lost soul. The witch Urasue cursed me with this false existence. This however is unimportant. My time remaining runs short and you will listen."

Frowning Botan placed a hand on Kikyou's shoulder. The women had just opened a portal directly into Koenma's palace, while that should have taken a good deal of power the priestess gave off no signs of being tired. Her spirit energy didn't even seem dimmed. However from her words it sounded beyond tired, as if she was about to pass on any moment. "No need to act tough, if your injured just let me have a look-see and I'll fix you right up!"

Kikyou flinched under Botan's hand. Side stepping Kikyou slipped out of Botan's reach. Her hand slid up to touch over her heart, thin waves of purple miasma leaked out."No, I have already received what aid I can. The miasma in this body will destroy it, but in repayment for the help I have received I wish to ask you to find my reincarnation and protect her. She's all he'll have left..."

Eyes wide Botan unconsciously mimicked Kikyou's motion, touching her own chest._ 'That energy it seems demonic, but feels like the energy from the netherworld.' _

Moving to stand between Botan and the miasma, Koenma's mouth tightened around his pacifier. _There's nothing I can really do about this. The seal is worth too much to use on one who should be dead. "_Who injured you? What danger is your reincarnation in? Who is he?"

Emotion finally found a place on the miko's face as her lips twitched into a small smile. "I never could say the right thing around her and I said so many hurtful things to him, blinded by hurt and rage as I was. I only ever hurt myself and kicked a faithful dog. Tell them I'm sorry, so sorry."

Pushing down the panic she'd felt from contact with the miasma, Botan pushed forward. Light flooded the office as she placed her hands over Kikyou's. _Why isn't it healing?! _"No one else is dying in front of me! Whoever you need to apologize do it in person!"

Even during her life, Kikyou had been suspicious of the kindness of others. She'd sacrificed her own happiness as a woman and as a human to give to others. The fate of a priestess. Why ever one anyone else be any different? Aiding others out of some degree of kindness, but always slightly bitter over their own loss of freedom. However the hand holding her own was so full of warmth and she could feel the compassion in the woman's energy. _'Not a single thought of what her offer of aid could cost her, only the earnest desire to save me.' _"To meet another person so like her, I am blessed. Thank you."

No tears escaped, if her body was even capable of producing them, but the dead woman's eyes took on a watery appearance. The small smile grew slightly and though sad she had a look that many who had walked the hall's of the Spirit World shared: she was at peace. _'I could not thank her then as I did this girl now. There was no point in saying anything to her. She is me, and I her. Again, I take my secrets to the grave my role as protector to the jewel outweighs all else. In the end this is not good-bye, I'll see him again as her and get my revenge as her. My next life where I can trust and love will be so different from this one where I was always alone if not in body in spirit. I could not ask for help. Now I have. No one need thank me for this, I've only helped myself...'_

Cracks broke across her peaceful face and Kikyou's body broke in a bath of pink light. Empty robes pooled on the floor, white orbs of lost souls filled the room giving off a faintly blue glow, and the room seemed to vibrate from a pulse.

Cupping her hands around one of the souls, a look of confusion crossed Botan's face. '_These souls are old. Hundreds of years have passed since their death.' _

Releasing the soul it rejoined its brethren floating aimlessly about the room. The reaper knelt down and dug through the decease's clothing. The pulsing ceased as her fingers curled around a spherical object. Unlike the others this soul was more akin to violently churning red smoke then the peaceful white balls of light. _This soul is injured. _"I've never seen anything like this before..."

Taking the injured soul from Botan into his own hands, Koenma peered inside observing the make up and imperfections that only his father or himself could ever see. "This soul has been ripped in two, forced back to a previous life from the grave. Even before being forced back some magic seems to have twisted it and influence of other souls being combined inside the same body after the resurrection has warped it farther."

Her hand moving over the broken soul like a mother caressing her crying child's hair, Botan watched the orb twist out of shape so that small tendrils of smoke brushed back at her hand. "Will we be able to speak with her again? There are a few spare soul containers in storage since we have a few reapers on vacation leave right now."

Shaking his head slowly the god dismissed the idea. "She's too damaged for that now. The only thing that can be done is to reunite it with the other half. A soul is suppose to learn, grow, and change as a whole. This one is like a puzzle with half the pieces going to one part and half to the other. Half has reverted to a older state, while the other will have changed as life lessons were learned. Time has cut new grooves on the previously matching side of each set. The halves don't line up anymore."

A plan of action in place, Koenma went back to his chair and sagged into it. With a flick of his wrist he opened a drawer, placing Kikyou's soul within. "For now I'll keep this under my personal watch. As happy as I'm sure he'll be to be seeing me, I need you to go to the Human World and call in Yusuke for a new mission."

He could only hope to contact Kikyou's reincarnation quickly. By luck the undead woman had the smaller half since she'd be able to power her false body with the souls of others, had the reincarnation ended up with the smaller portion she'd have been trapped in her body unable to move though aware.

_'Or had that already happened? It seems unlikely someone had ripped the soul into to put half of it into a doll and then just nicely give the rest back. Most likely the girl had a small portion left and was forced to fight for her own soul...'_ Dark as the thought was Koenma couldn't deny seeing flecks of the soul still unmutilated by being reverted back to it's previous state still within the bit in his possession.

One soul can not have two copies at once, for the division to exist at all the situation was already dire. Any use of spiritual power or the healing of wounds would be slowed as her soul would be unable to produce as much energy as it should, if there was trouble it'd be difficult to recover her from injury. Worse without a ghost to protect it a soul would normally fade into nothing within a day. Perhaps with his protection he could sustain it for three days. _'Souls are not made to separate. Before the false body had protected it like a ghost form would. If this half fades before it can be reconnected the girl will die, her incomplete soul unable to move on into a new life or the next world.' _

As Botan jumped onto her oar ready to fly off, her boss pressed the call button on his desk. "Ayame, report to my office immediately. There are several files I need you to find for me..."

_..._

In a rough Human World neighborhood several street vendors quickly put up their closed signs. Common knowledge of the area would be that only one event could cause such an occurrence: the entrance of one Yusuke Urameshi. Oddly enough though anyone who knew Yusuke would find it ridiculous as he was more of the street fight type punk then a robber.

Not that he didn't steal, he just didn't make a big production and rob stores. A needed item here or there when his mother was out of work accounted for most of his acts of petty theft, "a bike was faster than walking and I don't own one" accounted for the rest. Hunting for the secret location of the Urameshi bike treasure trove had become a infamous pass time of the neighborhood kids. Unsurprisingly it was all of Sarayashiki, permanently "borrowed" bikes tended just to be left behind once he got where he was going.

Several of the vender's glared at the boy and his companions, the day was sunny and the temperature comfortable. Perfect shopping weather with all the shops closed. Not that the three teenagers were out shopping, this was a strictly no fun allowed trip. Fun in this case being any fighting or ditching classes. Walking between and slightly behind Yusuke and Kuwabara, Keiko was their personal escort to ensure they went to school.

Favor for a favor, Yusuke returned a glare of his own before moving a bit closer to Keiko. Sure, she was a bit bratty with the nagging and the self-appointed watchdog habits, but at least she treated him decently. If he was going to be glared at he'd take her "get to school" glare over the adults "do the world a favor and die" looks. All the heat from the looks was really getting to him, first time in town in weeks and this was everyone's hello. _'Keep on glaring, I was only gone saving humanity assholes.' _

He could already hear Keiko nagging if he called them on it. Probably Kuwabara too if he argued back at Keiko since he never liked anyone being mean to girls, even if Yusuke only half assed ever putting Keiko in the girls category. She was more or less her own strange category in Yusuke's mind, a naggy, loud, annoying, bossy, fun to tease, cute category. _'Shut up brain, your sober.'_

Not a mess he even wanted to touch on at the moment. '_Not now or ever, never sounds good.' _He'd never been good at dealing with mushy stuff, and nothing was worth risking losing his childhood friend. "Well, I've reached my daily people limit. Must be about time to go watch some tv."

To his left Kuwabara looked like shit: arms dangling, legs dragging, and head drooping. "Such a pretty day too. Feels wrong to be trapped inside a school."

One highly audible inhale later, Yusuke coughed. "Uh oh, looks like I'm getting sick."

The big man next to him perked up, sending a huge grin at his buddy. "Ya know, I heard the arcade is the perfect medicine for that..."

Brown filled Yusuke's vision as Keiko's bag smacked against his head. Demons from the tournament hit harder, but Keiko was certainly a more frightening opponent. "Your mother went to a lot of trouble to convince the school not to fail you after how long you've been absent!"

_'Which one to hate more, the nagging or the feeling of guilt?'_ Good mood ruined along with his plan for the day, the toughest punk of Sarayashiki Junior High kept trudging toward school.

Another tap to the head drew his attention. "Would you stop that, your going to mess up my hair! The gel doesn't exactly fix itself."

Brushing imaginary flakes of hair gel off her bag, Keiko turned the bag over a few times to double check for residue."Well if you didn't make me feel like your baby sitter then I wouldn't mess with your hair!"

Highly in favor of anything non-school related, Kuwabara looked over at the couple. "I didn't realize baby sitters were suppose to ruin a kids hair. Makes sense though with all the strange things sis's done to mine over the years."

With a small swing of his own bag, Yusuke grazed the tip of Kuwabara's hair before taking off into a run. "That counting the weird ass pompadour?"

Back in good spirits Kuwabara chased after the detective. "Sis said it was a classic! **A classic**!"

An eye roll later Keiko had joined in, determined to keep up. Both boys being much faster than her not losing them was difficult, but thankfully for Keiko they didn't have any wish to reach their destination any time soon and didn't run long before stopping.

Kuwabara had halted. His gaze glued on a shop window. '_Those two guys inside, something about them is off.'_ A pair of guys their age were inside, both in school uniforms. All he could really make out at a distance was that one had blonde hair, the others hair looked purple. '_Feels human, they must be just punks too.'_

Yusuke nudged the psychic's side. "Your creepy sensor thing going off?"

The red head started walking towards the school again. "Maybe, something was off about a pair of guys in there. I could be wrong though. Nothing's really worked since the tournament. I haven't even been able to use the Spirit Sword."

Pointer finger extended a blue light flicked at the end, Yusuke paused. "Nope, nothing wrong with my Spirit Gun. Not that there's anything really worth using it on. What with winning the tournament and all, kinda hard to feel challenged after wiping out the strongest demon."

Another hand closed over his, pushing his pointer and thumb down till his hand was in a loose fist. Same as when they were kids he hand was still softer than his even with her tight grip as she tugged. '_Why must you always want another fight, don't you realize how close I came to losing you again?'_

Head tilted down from looking at the ground, Keiko's hair covered her eyes as she held onto his now, by comparison, more collateral damage safe hand. "We'll be late for school, let's hurry up."

...

One long ass school day later, Yusuke walked out of the building with Kwabara and his new puu bag attachment courtesy of Keiko. _'Why the hell can no one just take my word that he's a goddamn furrbie?' _

Sitting down on the entrance steps_,_ Yusuke untied Puu._ 'There ya go pal. Gotta suck to be stuck in the same place all day.' _"Alright feather ball, off my bag."

With his new freedom the Spirit beast rolled off the school bag into his owners lap.

Plopping down next to Yusuke, Kuwabara poked Puu. "So what's with the mascot? I thought Keiko was keeping the little guy."

Feathers fluffing up Puu chanted his name at Kuwabara as if to defend Yusuke. "Puu Puu Puuuu!"

An apology came in the form of a gentle pat to smooth the ruffled feathers. "Geez Puu that last one really stung!"

The beach ball-ish sized monster in his lap appeased, Yusuke groaned. "It's not as bad as it sounds. Keiko thought having him around might cheer me up some and frankly if I didn't fit him on my bag she would have brought me a pink bag tomorrow."

A short snicker came from Kuwabara. '_That's right, years of suffering under a older sister pay off now Urameshi!' _Picking up Yusuke's brown school bag, he placed it next to the detectives head. "What worried since your bag won't match your eyes? Or scared the pink will clash with your skin color?"

A missed punch tossed the bag from Kuwabara's grip. "Very funny. Wonder how long you'd laugh at a guy wearing pink if Kurama were here?"

Paler than usual, Kuwabara turned his head a few times to check for a certain fox's presents. Head angled a bit to the side to look past Yusuke, Kuwabara stopped his search. "It's Botan!"

Atop her usual oar, the head Grim Reaper was coming in fast. Less usual for when she appeared her brow was furrowed slightly and her lips pressed tight into a thin line, something was wrong. Lacking her usual kimono, she was dressed in their school uniform so Yusuke found it safe to assume she was definitely looking for them. "Looks like incoming bullshit is headed our way." _'and Botan too.'_

His hand opening as if holding an sword handle, Kuwabara could feel himself start to sweat. Not even a Spirit Shiv. "Another case so soon?" _'I haven't even figured out what's wrong with my sword yet...'_

Feet first, Botan landed a tad heavier than anticipated. "Hello boys! Quickly now let's go, Koenma's got a case for you and I've still got to locate Kurama and Hiei."

Botan froze, peering over her shoulder she spotted the outline of three boys waiting by the school gate. Lowering the volume level Botan moved a bit closer to her group."On second thought, let's head inside. As soon as we're out of sight I'll open a portal to Spirit World. There's no time to deal with them now, whatever you've done to piss them off settle it later."

Kuwabara and Yusuke had just stood up when a male voice spoke. "Yusuke Urameshi that's the name right? We hear you fight, wanna prove it?"

The speaker was short, slight build, too thin eyes, the letter V for a jaw, a messy black uniform from a nearby school, and a some badly cut blonde hair. _Found the leader, take him out and the other two will probably scatter. _

On the right stood a tall guy, purple uniform less messy then the first guys though still a punk, thin, and he had the tallest hair Yusuke had ever seen put into a purple crew cut. _Alright somebody is compensating and it isn't for height_.

Guy number three was just plain out of place, average height, non-athletic build, glasses, a face full of freckles, pink school uniform from Meioh Private Academy, and black pompadour that made Kuwabara's look cool by comparison. _I've never hear nerd screamed so loudly._

Nothing Yusuke didn't think he could easily take.

Full punk mode activated, Yusuke approached till just outside striking distance. "Anytime. Yo Kuwabara it's your lucky day! Guess who just got promoted to Spirit detective!"

Puu stuggled under Yusuke's arm, quieting down as more pressure was applied. 'S_orry little buddy, but this is no time to be a chatterbox.' _

Teeth visibly clinched, Kuwabara marched up to join Yusuke. His hand found its way to the shorter man's shoulder and gripped tightly. "Sorry Urameshi, I can't accept workin' this solo. Botan's come looking to you for help so it's your job as a man to get to work!"

Shrugging the larger man off, Yusuke rolled his other shoulder. Darn thing had a bad habit of being stiff if not stretched before a fight. "Chill out a bit would ya, I didn't say I was quitting. I just want to clean these small fries up first before moving on to bigger fish."_ 'But what will I do if there are no bigger fish?'_

For at least the third time that day a hard object managed to make contact with Yusuke's head as the oar struck from overhead. Raising his arms to cover his head Yusuke set his eyes on the oar. Genki would have fried him on principle if she'd seen him watching the weapon instead of his attacker's hands.

_'The nerve, I asked you not to waste time with a fight!'_ Botan kept on hand on her oar while other pinched his ear lobe as the she yanked him down to her level. "How much time do you think I have!? This is more important than a street fight!"

_'Orders, orders, orders all of today has been pushy people trying to boss me around. Go to school, go to Spirit World, how about they all go fuck off.'_ Back handing her arm with limited force, Yusuke freed himself. "Hands off the ear, I get enough of that from Keiko! I just beat the crap out of the strongest demon around, I think you can trust me to handle a few punks!... I'll be back ok? I just need to figure out what comes next and a good fight always seems to jolt my brain into an answer."

A short cough drew attention to the nerd in pink. "We can hear quite well, you'd best strategize quietly or this will be all **too easy.**"

If there was one thing that riddled up punks it was being ordered around and being mocked. Years of living in unfair world with inadequate emotional care breeds a distaste for authority. Add in teenage hormones and low impulse control to get socially incompetent individual. Other methods could be used to sway him if he appears ready to turn them down. Hurting his friends would work in this case, perhaps even more effective at angering him, but that was a death wish. _'Off the top of my head I can think of 30 anti-heros with his exact personality flaw.'_

Due to his height, Kuwabara had to hunch awkwardly to whisper near Yusuke's ear. "Just hear me out ok, I've got a bad feeling about this. Pretty sure those two guys on the right were the weirdness I sensed earlier."

String in hand, Yusuke re-tied Puu to his bag."All the more reason to check it out. Got a place?"

The squint-eyed leader didn't bat an eye lash. "Somewhere authority figures won't get in the way, at the field behind the school."

"Love there, time to add to my good memories." Yusuke moved to follow his challenger. Then turned to flash his friends a quick V for victory. "Tell Koenma I said 'Hey' and Kuwabara you'd better give me the run down of whatever's up when you get back."

As soon as the detective was out of sight, Botan openly shock with rage. "That twerp! Ugh, fine you'll just have to do."

There was a moment of silence as Kuwabara pushed down some of the hurt. Maybe he wasn't the unstoppable ragging force that Urameshi was, a super smarty pants like Kurama, or as skilled with a blade as shortstuff; but if he was one thing it was a man and a man won't leave the fate of the world in a lurch when he might be able to make a difference. _'Yusuke may have meant it as a joke to get out of work, but being spirit detective is no joke. I'm going to protect the honor of this world. '_

Head held as high Kuwabara gave a nod of acceptance, the unofficial appointment becoming official in his mind. _'It's a man to man promise!'_ "Geez no need to sound so disappointed. Didn't you hear the man, I've been promoted to spirit detective for the day. Have no fear Kazuma Kuwabara is on the case!"

Face flushed with rage, Botan tossed down her school bag at their feet. Digging into the bag she pulled out a few detective tools only to toss them back in with a slight frown._ 'A dog whistle, that ones new... Why in all the worlds can't Lord Koenma ever commission anything really useful?! Like a shock collar for Yusuke...'_ "Where do you think Kurama and Hiei would be?"

Pompadour slightly worse for the wear, the detective of the day scratched the back of his head. "I don't know about Hiei, but Kurama practically lives at his school."

A determined hand grabbed Kuwabara's sleeve and tugged as Botan took off running. "Next stop Meioh Private Academy!"

...

White walls and empty desks filled the sterile laboratory that served as Kurama's home away from home. Still enough to blend into the room the fox himself stood beside a burner, observing a bubbling beaker that most would pass off as some extra credit experiment. Those that did not assume it was extra credit would generally do so off the basis of that Shuichi Minamino was number one in his class, as such would have no need for such work. Fortunately there was only one such person in the school who would think to question his activities, Yu Kaito, who'd already left the grounds.

In truth he was boiling seeds of the Sinning Tree to prepare them for future germination. Native to the colder regions of the Makai the seeds go into a deep hibernation period only awakening in preparation for growth after exposure to extreme heat. Melting off the upper epidermal layers of the seeds hull was too dangerous to complete with his mother at home, as there was a second condition for the Sinning Tree's growth: the memories of a victim to take as its host.

Cation throughout the process and his own mastery of plant manipulation gave him some measure of safety, however others were an unknown variable. Unnecessary risks were to be avoided when circumstances allowed. Circumstance was not on his side as the backdoor to the lab flew open.

Turning slightly, he spotted three males dressed in the same school uniform as himself. Awkwardly postured bodies from being unused to the size they'd grown, pale, and walking with all the submissive posture of a kicked dog clearly the trio was not fighters. Still those at the end of their rope were the most dangerous and it would take little to set off the monster hidden within the plant seed. With a nod of acknowledgment, Kurama slipped into his role as Shuichi and turned off the burner.

Shorter than his two companions, a boy with thick glasses and overly oiled black hair stepped forward. His hands clamped together and an already slumped back bent father as he bowed his head. "Join the Biology Club! You have to, your a genius. There's a meet this weekend and with you as captain we could finally win."

Picking up the beaker, Kurama tilted his hand to swirl the contents once. Some of the outer shell appeared to be peeling, but it was unlikely any damage had been done to the inside. While hardy, he'd need to check later with his energy to insure the seed was ready for use. _'One can never be too careful with the tools that differ between life and death on the battlefield.'_ He moved the beaker onto the cool lab table. "As exciting as a Biology meet sounds, my weekends are full."

Head lifting to look into Kurama's eyes, the boy other wise maintained his green meet brown, the avatar slide his gaze to observing the boy's face instead of starting directly into the dilated eyes. A direct stare would send a message of challenge, but looking away makes one into prey._'Aggressive, most likely in his first year; but no fear of attempting to push a superior into doing what he wants. The older club members do not look surprised so this is common behavior for him.'_

Brow furrowing as time passed in silence, the two older club members exchanged a quick look of worry with each other. Their spokesmen frowned. "But your a prodigy, top scores every week, and the girls love you don't they? You'll turn this whole club around! We start winning contests, we get more funding, and then we get girlfriends!"

_'He's certainly thought this through: contests, funding, then girlfriends. The only thing missing is step four profit.' _Lightly touching a finger tip to the beaker, Kurama found the temperature to be safe to reach into without risking any burns.

Feet shuffled as the boy move forward his speech finished, the two other club members following. "Please? Please?"

Kurama pulled the seed out of the cooled beaker and placed it into his lab coat pocket. _'Time to extract myself. Seems the Biology club is on a singular wave length and group think is problematic at best to deal with.' _Almost at the room door a crash of metal hitting the tile floor sounded behind him.

Feet stumbled as the younger boy nearly fell trying to run after Kurama, the stool he'd run into lay on the ground. The taller of the other club members picked it up, shooting Kurama a looking sheepish as the boy could not met the fox's eyes. His cohort was no better with a slight blush and one hand covering part of his face.

With a slight limp after hitting his leg, the boy went around the paused Kurama to block the doorway. Far too much sweat dripped from his face for crossing such a short distance. "I've waited too long already to get what I want, join or face our wrath!"

Experienced eyes focused in as fingers clinched the kid making a fist with his thumb under all his other fingers. _'No clue how to fight at all, he'd break his fingers if he actually hit anything.' _

The red head sighed. "Nerd Violence."

Loud and brash, a familiar male voice sounded from the hallway. Another higher pitched voice sounded after each out burst from the male. Though he couldn't quite make out the female's words, the sound of his own name being called was clear. Unfortunately, is was indeed his true name being called. "Kurama! Kurama!"

His would be attacker's face relaxed, growing slack as confusion overtook any frustration. Lips moving faintly, Kurama could make out the word "who" without the boy uttering a sound.

Genuinely annoyed for the first time Kurama griped the confused youth's right arm and pushed him to the side away from the door way. "Best not to get squished before your Biology competition."

In one fell swoop the lab door came unhinged. Like the metal stool before it, the wooden door hit the tile floor with a dull thud. Into the room stepped another red head, this one more orange than red, who broke out in a smile as big as he was large at the sight of Meioh's top student. "Kurama, we've been looking all over for you!"

Light foot steps echoed through the room as Botan. Kurama could almost feel the change in atmosphere as his ears picked a sudden inhale of air by all three members of the Biology club. _'Perhaps they're all secretly still in the cootie phase?'_ It didn't take a genius level intellect for him to know the thought running through their shell shocked minds: _'a girl...!?'_

She grinned and suddenly the room had three new piles of goo. "Kurama, So glad to see you!"

One pile of goo leaned against the stool he'd picked back up earlier. Slightly glazed eyes kept only half way open stared at the blue girl. "Kurama?"

Even atglanceKurama could tell the boy had left reality far behind. Mindlessly the boy seemed unable to say any more as he mouthed several words repeatedly: me, please, and date. Sadly in that order. _'His mouth might still be moving, but thankfully his brain is not. Logic is hormone's prey.'_

Narrowed green eyes offered no mercy as his teammate and the fairy girl flinched. Volume under tight control the fox murmured out his warning. "Mind your words, I'm Shuichi here._"_

Message sent, he allowed his gaze to soften and gave the lovestruck teen a polite smile."Just a meaningless nickname, pay it no mind."

They didn't know it, but it was in their own and his best interest. Interaction with the supernatural came at a high cost to one's safety and he could not guarantee their survival. Best they never get involved, even if he could just make them forget. _'Once was enough...'_

Jaw momentarily tightening, Kuwabara looked a bit stressed. "Kura-Shuichi, wanna join in our plans for tonight? We're gonna go hunt down Hiei, then head off to see Koenma. You in?"

_'Not the smoothest delivery, but he's improving.' _Kurama a gentle smile on his face as he left the room, turning to peer over his shoulder back at the psycic from the hallway. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. Follow me, I have an idea of where we may find Hiei."

Happy giggles escaped Botan as she exited the room with Kuwabara following close behind.

Forgotten with his back pressed to the wall, a young first year smirked._ 'Just a meaningless nickname huh?'_

...

Deep within the city park a figure in black sprang from tree branch to tree branch far above the view of humans. Silver flashes of light only visible to the keenest of eyes crossed the forest. With each draw of his sword more insects fell to his blade. Blood red from the setting sun, the sky took on the same hue as the sky of demon world. _'This would be relaxing if it weren't for all the vermin.' _

While he did possess better vision then a human even he would be force to settle in for the night once the sun set. Moonlight was sufficient for sight usually, however the trees that hid him from human view were a double edge sword cutting off the only source of light. If he was so incline to keep up his purging spree, Hiei would be forced to head into areas with heavy enough human foot traffic to merit street lights. _'Wasting my time this evening, I'd say that's worth a death sentence.'_

Just another shadow among many, Hiei continued on towards a more populated area. As he traveled the number of insects increased. Most still appeared similar to the Makai insects used by the Saint Beasts, they likely fed off negative emotions if they were alike. However the closer he got to areas humans frequented other larger insects appeared intermixed into the swarm.

The emotion eaters rarely exceeded the size of a small pebble, these others were larger around the size of a fat rat. Eyes redder than his own, fat yellow bodies with purple stripes, a vicious stinger, and bee like wings that should not support the creature's weight made up the pests. The bugs had to be of demonic origin. Their bodies too disproportionate to make their stinger a convenient weapon it was unlikely these were built for combat, nor did they appear to be parasites as they lacked any appendages to attach themselves to a host with.

Unable to discern the bees use based on physical features, Hiei stuck quickly slicing several in a single leap. While the fox would have observed, Hiei's policy was much simpler: kill the threat **before** finding out what it can do. No notice was payed as the bugs kept on course for some unknown target. They seemed not to be of their own mind, lacking any sense of self preservation none so much as twitched in a attempt to avoid his strikes. Someone else had to be the puppet master, controlling bugs that were not meant for battle or to possess others and they were flying them into what for the duration of his sentence would be his town. '_Disturbing.'_

Third eye pulsing beneath his bandanna, Hiei attempted to touch the mind of one of the bugs. Given their low level of energy he wasn't expecting much, maybe a single word thought such as: prey, food, or eat. To his surprise he could indeed dig deeper past the bugs mind into the conscious of the one controlling them. _'Arrogant, leaving no barrier between themselves and their puppet.'_

Greed and jealousy ruled this mind, Hiei's hands flexed around the hilt of his katana as he felt the slimy almost oily in feel conscious rub back against his very being. Cutting contact and raising his own mental barriers only a single word reached him: _'Kagome...'_.

Sweat compromised his grip as he split open the bee he'd used for the connection. Killing done for the night he retreated back into the tree tops, he'd need some time to shake off the feeling of touching minds with a black hole of a being. _'Like sinking into true despair it felt infinite in its blackness...'_ "The air here is full of energy, almost like back home, with nearly as many pests. Darkness is coming to the human world or has it already come?"

Ancient and alert, another presence entered his space. This one was familiar. _'Already sniffing around for answers are Kurama? Today may not be a waste after all then, interesting questions mean interesting events. Interesting events involve interesting people and interesting people are the most challenging to fight.'_

Within a few bounds, Hiei stood concealed within a haven of branches and leaves. On the ground below stood a monkey of a man in blue, the fool of a Grim Reaper, and a man more ruthless than he. _'So Spirit World is aware of the change occurring. Fortunate, I may not have to share my cage with vermin.'_

One knee on the ground Botan dug through her bag of detective tools for the second time of the day. Pulling out a grey watch with a red compass for a time piece she swung her arms as if playing a one woman game of "Hot or Cold". "How about the Demon Compass? We can locate Hiei by his energy!"

Far above them Hiei smirked at her pointed in the direction away from him. _''Cold enough to freeze an ice maiden_.'

Bent slightly to peer inside the bag, Kurama looked disproving as he gave a slight sigh. "Right now this park is buzzing with demonic energy. Can it differentiate Hiei's from the other sources?"

A click sounded as the girl pushed a button on the side of the watch. Top coming unhinged the compass sprang open. "One lock of hair in this chamber and this can lock onto his DNA signature to focus on his energy."

Chucking Kurama's pretended to check his pockets going so far as to pull a handkerchief out of his pocket and shake it out. "A shame I don't carry around a lock of Hiei's hair."

Unconsciously reaching up to touch his hair, Hiei watched the older demon stuff the cloth back into his pocket. _'Even his for-sight isn't perfect...'_

The big man next to him gave a shudder. "Me either, that'd just be creepy."

Demon Compass put away, Botan next pulled out a small magnifying glass. "The Psychic Spyglass, allows the user to look through clothing or walls. Nothing can hide from that, not even Hiei!"

Amused Hiei snorted. _'They let that pervert of a detective have an object that can see through clothing. Those poor females.'_

A red eye brow raised in doubt. "and you plan on searching the whole city this way? Even if you find him how will you keep him from simply walking away?"

Cheeks red with embarrassment, the girl slipped the spyglass back into the bag. Gold glinted as she pulled out the next object: a ring. "The Concentration Ring. With this we blow up all the walls, find Hiei, and tell him to stick'em up!"

The avatar's smile momentarily dropping in favor of a grimace, it appeared to Hiei even Kurama's patience had its limits. _'Painful isn't it? Playing nice instead of chopping the fool's head off.'_

Arms crossed and head tilted as if deeply confused Kuwabara frowned. "We can't destroy the city, that's what the bad guys do."

Shooting him the dirties look she could, Botan tossed the ring back into the bag. _'Call me a bad guy, the nerve!' _After some scrambled she yanked a silver whistle out of the bag. "No destruction with this one. The Mystic Whistle, somewhat like a dog whistle only demons can hear it. We'll just call him!"

At this one the fox nodded in agreement, then walked a few paces from Botan. Reaching back into his hair he placed a seed into his hand and stood still. The tensing of his muscles in preparation for battle subtle enough to be lost on his current company. "Be wary, we know not what beings besides Hiei that the whistle may call."

Hiei could scent panic on Kuwabara as the human scrambled to take a fighting stance near by. Fists clinch and up like he planing to punch any demons that should arrive. _'Fool should summon his Spirit Sword instead of relying on being lucky enough to have only weaklings appear."_

High and shrill the worst sound Hiei had ever heard clawed its way into his ears. Waves and waves of the noise came in pulses that tasted of Botan's energy. As they crashed against him, Hiei felt his stomach churn and his vision blur.

Below the fox covered his ears with his hands. "It's boring into my head..."

Balance compromised, Hiei swayed his eyes watering. Mimicking the fox failed to stop the sound.

Kuwabara cupped his hands behind his ears. "I don't hear anything..."

Dizzy Hiei tried to replant his foot on the branch. Brow scrunched together in pain and eyes closed for the first time in his life Hiei fell out of a tree. _'Puking is for the weak...'_

The world's spinning slowed as the shrilled whistle stopped. Creaking open an eye it quickly was re-closed. Even the slight glow of nearby street light was painful. Hiei felt like there were dozens of shrunken Kuwabara's bashing his weak Spirit Sword against the inside of his head.

A snicker cut short had him trying again to open his eyes. _'Think this is funny fox? I ought to make that red hair of yours truly flaming.' _Second try was the charm as he made out three blurs bent over him.

Blue and orange, one of the blurs got bigger as a bit of pale skin color moved closer. _'I'm no invalid!'_ Jerking himself up right into sitting with his back braced against the tree he'd fallen out of, Hiei dodged the hand that had moved to help him up. "Touch me and lose that hand!"

Whipping a tear out of its eye the Botan blur moved back a few steps. "Thank goodness, I thought I'd killed you."

Snorting Hiei stood. _'It's not in her nature to kill. She's too soft for it. However that is not to say another could not have taken advantage of my incapacitation to finish me. I have to get stronger...' _"Unlikely, the only way you'd kill me is if I died of shame from having to associate weaklings like yourself."

Voice smooth as honey, his fellow demon attempted to smooth his damaged ego."Now now Hiei, you worried us. Glad to see your feeling better."

For his effort he received a slightly out of focus glare while Hiei's vision and balance reset. _'Don't think I don't know you had to have sensed me when I sensed you. Nor that the you allowed the use of the whistle, even giving the reaper approval to use it on me.'_ "Save your worry. My whereabouts require no such extreme measures to reach. If you all are such children as to need constant supervision you need only look up to find me."

Index finger scratching his chin, Kuwabara was clearly thinking."Just look up...Were you nearby the whole time?"

Left to right, Hiei looked around quickly as if an answer would spring up from the ground. _'I didn't think it was possible,but dislike him even more when he thinks.'_ His throat produced a minor growl as he settled back into his usual expression of bored disdain."Don't be stupid, I just came to slay whatever vile thing was making that racket."

Hands placed in front of her in a placating gesture Botan scrambled back a few steps. "Sorry about that, had to find you since Lord Koenma has a mission for everyone."

Calmly taking in the newly clear figures before him, Hiei locked eyes with the retreating girl."Congrats you found us. Now where's the detective, surely even your not so incompetent as to loose the boy."

Green joined red as a second set of eyes bore into the nervous pair of pink eyes."Yes, I've been wondering that myself..."

Gaze glued to the grass like it was the most interesting thing in the Human World, Botan refused to meet the questioning looks."Tee-hee, about that..."

Chest puffing up, Kuwabara stretched himself out make his already large form appear bigger. Legs a little more than shoulder with apart and hands on his hips, he made his best heroic pose. "Your detective is right here! Yusuke's a bit busy cleaning up some trash so I'm leading this one."

With the same unimpressed look that Shizuru wore every time she caught her brother practicing his heroic pose, Hiei tensed preparing to jump back into the forest."Handle this one yourself then. If this is problem is too insignificant for Yusuke's notice it is no doubt below being worth troubling me over. You have the fox, that should be sufficient."

Disappointment flooded the female of the group. _'All that work to find you and your just going to walk away too?' _The black clothed back grew twisted as her eye rushing from her mouth, Botan went for broke. "You must be tired of being trap in this city. Spirit World isn't going to let you out without what at least appears to be actions of good will on your part. Join this mission and your sentence will be cut to time served."

Teeth dug into the soft flesh of her lip as Boton nervously bit down. _'Koenma won't be happy about cutting his sentence so short after all the trouble he got into over the treasury being broken into, but I'm the one that brought the priestess to see him. I feel like it's part of my responsibility to ensure her soul is reunited.'_

Spirit World might not be so pleased with the agreement, but the apparition was more than pleased at the offer. Vicious looking his smile was more a bearing of teeth as he nodded in acceptance. Escape no longer on his mind, Hiei's image flickered momentarily before re-appearing besides Kurama.

Another insect fell to his blade. _'There is no easy prey here and I do not forgive over confidence.' _

Two tiny halves of a bug floated down, slowly fading as the energy seeped out of its form. Kurama extended an open palm allowing the bits to land in his hand. Observant eyes took in the thin sucker for latching onto prey and the size of the body. _'This one has been feeding very recently.'_

"It's those things again!" Body perked like a frightened cat, Kuwabara held himself as far from Kurama as he could without moving. _ 'If Byakko comes back again, I'm gonna be __**very**__ pissed...'_

Thumb sliding against a half of the body to role in over, Kurama made a bit of a humming sound. "Not quite. This species is similar, but only a close cousin of the Makai insect. Smaller in size these are still capable of possessing a host, however while their larger cousins could gain control after a single bit these must latch on then over time force their proboscis into the victim."

_'Those things can possess people!? Maybe I really should have been paying more attention in Biology class...' _Lips pursed, Kuwabara's stare stayed fixated on the dead bug. "Proboscis?..."

Using his other hand Kurama gently pinched the sucker of the insect. "That would be this, inside is a tube with a connection to it's brain allowing control once it's attached to a part of its host's nervous system."

Understanding flashed on the younger man's face. In turn the his ancient friend felt his chest tighten with happiness. The joy of learning was something he understood well. _'A rough start for sure, but there is potential in this one. I look forward to seeing what you will do.' _

Sparksof life force floated off his palm as the insect faded. '_I still have a great many lessons to learn as well.'_Fishing into his uniform pocket, Kurama produced a handkerchief. Quickly wiping his hands he tried to ignore the odd looks his teammates were shooting at him. Even if the bug had left no physical remains, there was still a scent trail. _'Not everyone thrills in the scent of blood... at least not all the time.'_

Scowling at the darkness, the forms of the larger bugs were not visible. _'If I could take one down right now, perhaps the fox would recognize the species or at least make a guess at its use.' _However, Hiei was left feeling taunted at still being able to feel their weak energy signals hanging just slightly out of his sight range. _'They must be avoiding me now, good.'_ "If your quite done playing teacher, I'd like to get this over with."

_'Something interesting that way?'_ Examining the movement of shadows, Kurama found he disliked what he saw. _'There should not be movement if we are alone, we're being watched...'_ "I'd have to agree. Best we head off now."

Concentrating her powers, blue energy flared around Botan. Directly into Koenma's office would require more energy then elsewhere within the palace as there were several protections on it to prevent any assassination attempts, but the ability to bypass them was one of the perks of being head Grim Reaper. Unprotected souls only lasted a short amount of time, waiting for the less then reliable ogres to recognize her at the palace entrance was not an option._'Poor little lost soul, just hold on a little longer. They may not look like much, but if anyone can save you it's them.'_

Sensing the connection between her and the Spirit World complete, Boton grinned."One portal to Spirit World coming right up!"

...

Koenma jumped in his seat at the sound of a dull thump.

Perfectly landing on their feet Hiei and Kurama had dropped into his office, Botan appeared a bit more slowly still atop her oar, however Kuwabara had not been so graceful. Laying on with his stomach to the floor, he'd belly flopped into the Spirit World.

A rare wide eyed look of confusion graced Kurama's face as he took in the dozens of ogres racing around the office to chase down loose souls. Weaving in and out in seemingly random patterns the lost souls appeared to be on the winning end of their one sided game of tag. _'There are dozens of souls here... but the air about them smells old. These are not from recent deaths.'_

Hastily moving to recline against a wall, Hiei moved out of the way of the chaos. _'Can't even do their own job, pathetic.'_

Forced to roll a few times to avoid the feet of an over zealous ogre, Kuwabara made it to his feet. A few staggering steps later he'd managed to stand next to the wall, a hand bracing him. Everything felt off kilter, like he was on a tilt a whirl going full speed. Images flashed at him reminding him of the time they'd faced Dr. Ichigaki's team. _'Sadness, anger, betrayal... my head feels like it's gonna split!'_

Team in place, Koenma quickly eyed each one as those expecting one to jump at him. '_They each look like the real one...'_ Repeating the pattern, his brow furrowed. _'One, two, three...Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei...'_

The prince made another pass."Where the hell is Yusuke? Botan you had **one** job!"


End file.
